The Cardturner
by Louis SacharDelacorte Press, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher
My mom is a bridge player. When I received this review copy, I immediately sent it to her to get her opinion. I told her she could share it with her book-loving bridge-playing friends as long as she always knew where it was and could send it back to me if I needed it. She loved it. 8-10 other ladies in my hometown area (not all bridge players) have read it, too. They didn't all love it (one had a problem with the profanity, but the best anyone can tell, and I think my mom reread the whole book to try to find all the profanity, Alton says "Jesus Christ" once in the book -- and I just found a hell; and one didn't think it was well-written) but one lady who is on the library board is going to recommend it for purchase for the public library, and one of Mom's best friends is going to read it one more time before she gives it to her bridge-loving middle school-aged grandson.
It seemed perfect to finally read this book while I was home visiting Mom. Even though I've grown up around bridge playing, I still nodded knowingly when Alton's friend Cliff describes bridge as "a card game little old ladies played while eating chocolate-covered raisins." I remember those raisins well. And that's about how deep my knowledge of bridge goes.
Here's the surprising thing -- as much as Mom and her bridge-playing friends loved this book as insiders with a deep knowledge of bridge, I loved it as an outsider with a shallow, chocolate-covered raisin knowledge of bridge.
How did Louis Sachar do this? How did he write a book about bridge that is accessible to all? He had two aces up his sleeve (and I AM aware that that's the wrong card game metaphor, but at least it's a card game metaphor):
1. Great characters.
Although the plot of the book is driven by the game of bridge, Alton is a funny, likable main character who speaks directly to the reader. He starts the book with zero knowledge of bridge, so readers like me do not feel alienated from the very first page. Alton's great-uncle Trapp, the blind bridge player for whom Alton turns cards, is a complicated man -- cranky and particular, philosophical and funny, miserly with compliments but generous with the wealth he's accumulated...generous in cranky, particular, philosophical and funny ways. Alton's parents are complete creeps -- money-hungry, greedy creeps. Think Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. Alton's 11 year-old sister needs her own book so she can really shine, and there's a love-triangle sub-plot featuring Alton, his friend Cliff, and schizophrenic Toni. (I know that sounded flip, "schizophrenic Toni," so I should say that even though Sachar needs a character who hears voices in her head to drive the bridge plot at the end of the story, his treatment of a schizophrenic character is very respectful -- think Schneider Honor Book good.)
2. Permission to skip the complicated explanations of bridge.
I love it that Louis Sachar gives us permission to do what good readers already do -- skip the parts that don't make sense to us as long as we hold onto the main story line. He gives the reader a whale symbol (it's a reference to using this reading strategy with Moby Dick) when he's going to tell the details behind the bridge plays in the story. I mostly took him up on skipping -- or at least skimming -- those parts, but the writing was so entertaining that I didn't want to miss anything by skipping them entirely. That's good writing. Sachar also got me hook, line, and sinker (I know, I know...it's a fishing metaphor, not a card-playing metaphor) with his imaginary bridge expert, Syd Fox, who does a running commentary on the story in the appendix. I thought he was a real expert! This makes the appendix even funnier, and gives me another character to love!
Here's the most amazing thing -- this book makes me maybe...someday...don't get your hopes up, Mom...a little bit interested in learning to play bridge.
was the first graphic novel I read this week. It is a short biography from the 
by 
I also read 
by Laura Lee Gulledge. This is more of a young adult novel. I see it as more middle school/high school. The story is about a girl named Paige who moves to New York City. It is a growing up story in which Paige learns to be herself, explore her feelings through her art, make friends, fall in love and more. There are a few edgy parts to the book--one that makes it perfect for middle school/high school. A great story about a character I came to love early in the book. I thought this was a well-done book trailer on the book.
by 
I picked up 
by Alison Murray today while I was out shopping. It is an adorable alphabet book and dog story combined. In this story, a dog's owner makes an apple pie and he wants a taste. The book is unique in that it is an alphabet book, but the pages go together to tell a story. Each of the pages focuses on one letter and a simple phrase to tell the story of how hard this dog works to get a taste of the pie. For example the F page says, "find a crumb", H says, "have to get a lick of it" and N says, "not giving up". That gives you a clue into the story.
, 
, and 
, all by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. I purchased all three at the same time and love the way they work together as well as separately. 
by Anne Ursu is due out in September. This is a favorite of mine for 2011 so far. It is a modern day fairy tale. A version of The Snow Queen. Ursu does an amazing job of weaving in issues that today's children may be dealing with into this fantasy story. The underlying themes are friendship and loss among other things. Divorce, boy-girl friendships, international adoption, and other things are explored in this book. The author does a great job at pulling in other stories we know such as the Chronicles of Narnia and the Little Match Girl. This is a book I may want to reread and definitely a great addition to any intermediate or middle school classroom. I loved it. It is so good that I would preorder it now so that you don't forget about it in September.
is a poetry book by Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers that I have been meaning to read. The book is a powerful one, reminding us about what it means to be American. The book is both a celebration of our country and a realistic look at some issues we deal with as a nation. This is a gorgeous book that older students could read with depth.
purchasing the new issue of 
because Michael J. Fox was on the cover. Honestly, I felt like I was 13 and buying an issue of Teen Beat when I saw his photo on the cover. I picked up 
by Michael J. Fox and read it as part of my 48 Hour Read. This is a great little essay--one of those books aimed at graduating students. But so much of what Michael J. Fox says in this book resonated for me. A good, quick, life message. (By the way, a little Franki Trivia for you--I have a credit in a Michael J. Fox movie. I was the tutor on the set for a child in 
for one day of filming in Ohio. I didn't have to do much tutoring but I did get to ride in a van with Joan Jett and see Michael J. Fox in person from afar many times during the day:-)
I picked up 
by Olivia Bouler a few weeks ago. I had heard the story about Olivia raising money to help birds during the oil spill and was intrigued by the book. This book is full of information and drawings about birds by Olivia. We learn about the fascination of birds and also learn about the dangers to birds, about the oil spill and about Olivia's work to help them.m This is a great piece by an 11 year-old working to make a positive difference in the world.
by Shaun Tan was another that had been on my stack for a while. This is a collection of 3 short pieces around the theme of loss. Each story is different and each leaves the read with lots to think about. The illustrations are incredible and add to the text. I can see using this with older elementary and middle school students to really dig into the meaning of these stories, both separately and together.
by Catherynne Valente was the first book that I read. I actually started it a week or two ago but didn't have much time to read during the last weeks of school. The book is a fairy tale and the main character is one that will stay with me for a long time. But this is not an easy read. It seems more middle school than middle grade to me. It is a great, unique fairy tale. I did not fall in love with it until the last 1/3 but by the time I was finished, I loved it. I think had I not spread it out over a busy time of year, I would have loved it immediately. I definitely recommend this one to readers of more complex fantasy/fairy tales.
by Chris Van Allsburg and wasn't really expecting to. Honestly, when I ordered it, I had no idea what it was about. I just ordered it because it was by Van Allsburg and I love most everything by him. The Polar Express was one of the first children's book I owned when I began student- teaching and I have loved his work ever since. But this book is different for this author/illustrator. It is a picture book biography about the first woman to go over Niagra Falls in a barrel. I am addicted to finding great picture book biographies so finding this one was a real treat. Van Allsburg's illustrations make this a biography I think kids will love--the story is a great one and Van Allsburg's illustrations bring it to life. I am happy to add it to my biographies and to my Chris Van Allsburgh collection.
by Kirby Larson was the last book that I read during the 48 Hour Read and it was a a great ending to a great reading weekend! I love dolls so I especially liked the idea of this book. It is a historical booked based on the 57 dolls sent to the United States from Japan in 1927 as "Ambassadors of Friendship". This is the story of one doll and the people she meets in her travels. The book consists of 5 stories and we see the way that the doll was "brought to life" by each new girl she met. We also see how each of the girls was changed because of the doll. Each story is powerful by itself. The book reminded me a bit of The Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo in its premise. This is definitely a new favorite for me. I have always loved dolls so I am anxious to see how this book does with others who are not so interested in dolls. My gut says that it is a great story regardless of how you come to it. Together these create a story of hope, change, loss, friendship and more. At the end of the book, author Kirby Larson gives us a little more background about the Japanese dolls.
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If you are looking for fun things to try this summer, I would definitely recommend this book. The product is a fun one (although they do take a bit of time) and it was a fun project to do together. Hopefully, I'll attempt one of the more complex cake pops later this summer, but for now, I am happy to have this new fun treat on my list of things to bake!